Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 57

The boardroom felt colder than usual.

The long glass table reflected the ceiling lights in hard white lines. Twelve chairs surrounded it. Eleven were filled. The last one waited at the far end.

Marco’s seat.

No one spoke while he walked in.

They watched him the way people watch a man already judged.

One of Marco ally Charles sat at the table opposite Marco. His hands were folded. His posture straight. The same man who had once called Marco the future of the company.

Now he looked tired.

Tired and disappointed.

Marco sat down slowly. His throat felt dry. His head still hurt from the whiskey he had poured down his throat the night before.

He had barely slept.

Margaret had screamed at him for two hours.

Then she had slammed the bedroom door and locked it.

He had ended up drinking alone in his office until morning.

Now he sat here.

Waiting.

Charles finally spoke.

“Stock is down fifty five percent.”

His voice stayed calm.

That made it worse.

“Three days,” he continued. “Fifty five percent in three days.”

A few board members shifted in their seats.

No one looked happy.

“Investors are pulling money,” Charles said. “News outlets are asking questions. Our credibility is collapsing.”

He leaned forward.

“Explain this to us, Marco.”

Marco cleared his throat.

“The Panda situation was unexpected,” he said. “The withdrawal shocked us.”

Patricia Chen laughed softly.

There was no humor in the sound.

“Unexpected?”

She slid a folder across the table.

“Your hidden debt reports leaked to Panda,” she said. “They walked away from a billion dollar investment within hours.”

Marco forced himself to stay calm.

“Those reports were confidential,” he said. “Someone leaked them deliberately.”

“Or,” Patricia replied, “you hid liabilities and hoped no one would notice.”

Murmurs moved around the table.

Marco looked at the faces around him.

People he had worked beside for years.

People who used to shake his hand.

Now they watched him like he carried a disease.

Successfully unlocked!

Chapter 57

“There was no fraud,” Marco said. “The accounts were structured through legal offshore channels. Our lawyers approved everything

Thomas Wright learned back in his chair.

“Legal does not mean smart,” he said.

Marco felt heat rise in his chest.

“Our biggest partner disappears,” Thomas continued. “Stone Maritime leaves without warning. Thirty percent of our revenue vanishes overnight. Then Panda pulls out days later.”

He spread his hands.

“That is not bad luck. That is failure.”

Marco clenched his fists under the table.

“Stone made his own decision,” Marco said. “He sold his company without telling us.”

“You depended on him too much,” Patricia replied.

“You should have built other partnerships,” another board member said.

“You gambled the company on a single relationship,” Thomas added.

Voices began to stack on top of each other.

Criticism.

Anger.

Accusations.

Marco felt the pressure building behind his eyes.

“Enough,” Charles said.

The room went quiet again.

“We are not here to shout,” he said. “We are here to decide the future of Hart Industries.”

He turned toward Marco again.

“There are also rumors,” Charles said slowly. “About financial manipulation. About misrepresented numbers presented to

Panda.”

Silence fell again.

Marco forced himself to meet Charles’s eyes.

“That accusation is false,” he said.

“Is it?” Patricia asked.

Marco nodded.

“Yes.”

Charles watched him for several seconds.

Then he stood.

“The board will vote,” he said.

Marco’s stomach dropped.

“Vote on what?” he asked.

Charles looked directly at him.

“On removing you as CEO. Effective immediately.”

The words landed like a hammer.

Marco felt the air leave his lungs.

“You cannot be serious,” he said.

“The company has lost more than half its value,” Charles replied. “Confidence in leadership is gone.”

He raised his hand slightly.

“All in favor of removing Marco Hart as CEO.”

Hands began to rise.

Chapter 57

One

Three

Marco stared at them.

Four.

Five..

Six.

Seven.

Seven hands in the air.

Seven out of twelve.

Majority.

His chest tightened.

Fifteen years building this company.

Late nights.

Deals.

Travel.

Negotiations.

All of it collapsing in one silent vote.

“Wait.”

Joshua Bassett stood.

Every head turned toward him.

Joshua had been quiet through the entire meeting.

Now he walked toward the presentation screen.

‘Before we finalize this decision,” he said, “I want the board to look at something.”

He pulled up a timeline on the screen.

‘One weeks ago,” Joshua said, “Stone Maritime sold to a buyer we still cannot identify.”

The room listened.

‘The sale destroyed our biggest revenue stream,” he continued.

He tapped the screen.

‘Five days later the Panda investment collapsed.”

Another tap.

‘Both events happened within days.”

Patricia frowned.

‘And?”

Joshua turned toward the board.

‘That pattern suggests coordination.”

“You think someone is attacking the company,” Thomas said.

“No,” Joshua replied. “I think someone is attacking Marco.”

The room went quiet again.

“Think about it,” Joshua said. “Stone Maritime was Marco’s personal partnership. He built that relationship himself. Losing it hurt him directly.”

He pointed at the second event.

“Then Panda receives confidential files exposing financial structures only a few insiders knew about.”

Patricia crossed her arms.

Chapter 57

“You’re suggesting sabotage.”

Vec Jushua said.

“From who?” Charles asked.

Joshua looked around the table.

“Someone who benefits from Marco’s fall,”

Marco felt a cold feeling crawl through his chest.

He already knew the answer.

Lucia.

Her face appeared in his mind.

The auction.

The dress.

The diamond around her neck.

The way she had looked at him without fear.

But saying her name here would sound insane.

“Even if that theory is true,” Charles said, “the damage still exists.”

Joshua nodded.

“I agree. But removing Marco today does not solve the problem. If someone is targeting him, that person will not stop just because he leaves the office.”

“So what do you suggest?” Patricia asked.

“Give him time,” Joshua said.

“How much time?” Charles asked.

Joshua paused.

“Thirty days.”

The number echoed through the room.

“Thirty days for Marco to identify who is behind this,” Joshua said. “Thirty days to stabilize the company. If he fails, remove him then.”

The board members exchanged looks.

Some shook their heads.

Others thought quietly.

Charles sighed.

“Fine,” he said. “We vote again.”

He raised his hand.

“All in favor of thirty days probation instead of immediate removal.”

Joshua’s hand went up first.

Then another.

Another.

Another.

Barely enough.

Charles lowered his hand.

“Motion passes,” he said.

He looked directly at Marco.

“Thirty days,” he said. “If the company continues to decline, you are out. Permanently.”

Marco nodded slowly.

He could not trust his voice.

“Meeting adjourned,” Charles said.

Chapter 57

Chairs scraped the floor.

the board members left without speaking to him.

Within minutes the roorn emptied.

Only Joshua remained.

Marco leaned back in his chair.

His hands shook.

“You saved me,” he said quietly.

Joshua shook his head.

“No,” he said. “I delayed the execution.”

Marco rubbed his face.

“You really think someone is doing this deliberately?”

Joshua studied him.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“That is the question you need to answer.”

Marco hesitated.

Then he spoke.

“I think it might be my ex wife.”

Joshua raised an eyebrow.

“Lucia?”

Marco nodded.

“But it does not make sense,” he said quickly. “She was never capable of something like this. She hated conflict. She barely handled basic finances when we were married.”

Joshua laughed once.

“You are forgetting something,” he said.

“What?”

“She is with Alexander Kane now.”

Marco felt his stomach twist.

“That does not mean she would do this.”

“It means she could,” Joshua replied.

He walked closer.

“Let me ask you something,” he said. “Did you humiliate her publicly when you divorced?”

Marco looked away.

“Yes.”

“Did your children side with you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you announce your engagement to Margaret during your anniversary party?”

Marco did not answer.

Joshua nodded.

“That is enough reason for revenge,” he said.

Marco swallowed.

“Lucia was never cruel,” he said.

“People change when they are pushed far enough,” Joshua replied.

Marco stared at the empty chairs around the table.

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Chapter 57

Lucia.

the quiet women he had once dismissed.

The wife who rarely argued.

The mother who spent her days caring for children and charity events.

He had called her weak.

He had said she would never survive without him.

Now Stone Maritime was gone.

Panda had walked away.

The board had nearly removed him.